With the opioid epidemic on the rise, Houston ISD police are now arming themselves with a spray that can help combat an overdose on school campuses.
School board members voted Thursday night to accept a donation of more than 400 doses of NARCAN spray from Kaleo Pharma, the company that makes the drug. The donation is valued at $72,000.
NARCAN can reverse an opioid overdose and prevent death.
“Officers, a lot of time, are the first responders on the scene to be there, and to have that available with them is going to be, hopefully, a good tool,” said Robert Mock, HISD police chief. “Hopefully we never need it, but if we do, we'll now have that available for them.”
Officers have been trained on how to use the pods and will start carrying NARCAN in the next few weeks.